Diverse World Studies Booklists
We enjoy celebrating holidays around the world and especially through diverse stories. Below, you’ll find booklists from the oft-overlooked Earth Day to a Thanksgiving booklist focused on the pre-colonial Indigenous American celebration.
- The New Kingdom of Egypt: Activities and Books
For our study of the New Kingdom, we explored hieroglyphs, made a clay pot, and had a book party! - Great Reads: Ancient Egypt Historical Fiction Books
We are finished with our study! Here are the Ancient Egypt historical fiction chapter books that I offered to my 6th grade twins. - The Middle Kingdom of Egypt: Make Papyrus and Draw
We continued crafting while learning about the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The most interesting thing we learned was related to the Bible. - The Old Kingdom of Egypt: Fun Activities and Books
We had an incredible amount of fun learning about the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Check out the activities we did, videos we viewed, and the books we read! - Great Elementary Books for your Study of Ancient Egypt
We read bits and pieces from these as we worked through our study on Ancient Egypt. These were appropriate for my kids ages 7 through 11. - Origins of Earth Day: Two Important Events
The origins of various holidays is always of special interest to me. I found these two picture books on the origins of Earth Day, both published in 2023! Surprisingly, they do not tell the same story. - The Best Books about Dragons: from Silly to Scientific
It’s the Year of the Dragon for this Lunar New Year cycle! Here’s a compilation of books about dragons, from scientific to just plain silly. - Celebrate Purim with Baking, Books, and Beyond
In 2024, Jewish people begin to celebrate Purim at sunset on March 23. These are the ways in which we, as a Christian family, learned about Purim this year! - Books For Spring: Celebrate Diverse Holidays Around the World
Learn about cultural and religious festivals and holidays around the world this spring, from Ireland to India, Guatemala to Japan. Here’s our lineup of reads for the month of March - Lunar New Year Books Around the World: My Recommendations
Lunar New Year Booklist I never knew the Lunar New Year traditions until recently. But… you’re Chinese/Taiwanese! It’s true. But I learned the traditions by reading to my kids, starting just a few years ago with our study of China. Keep reading for my favorite Lunar New Year books! Here’s why I’ve remained in the… Read more: Lunar New Year Books Around the World: My Recommendations - Top 6 Books About Thanksgiving in AmericaThis year, we’ve been focused on American History, including the study of indigenous American tribes. Here are the top 6 books about Thanksgiving in America, gleaned from various booklists on my blog. AND we’ve been continuing our country studies (currently central Africa), so finding the last book about harvest days around the world has been… Read more: Top 6 Books About Thanksgiving in America
- Booklist of Stories about Trees Around the WorldOur current nature study ~TREES~ is inspired by the many sticks and leaves my children pick up every time we walk a nature trail. We’ll be reading these books about trees around the world in addition to the larger stack about the science of trees and the fascinating ways they communicate. Overview Around the World… Read more: Booklist of Stories about Trees Around the World
- Read Around the World for Earth Day 2023
Earth Day has become a global celebration of community efforts to clean up our environment and live in a cleaner way. The beginnings of this environmental movement is usually attributed to American Rachel Carson. One of my favorite things to do is to make science connections in our geography and world studies lessons. There are… Read more: Read Around the World for Earth Day 2023 - Cherry Blossoms, from Japan to Washington, D.C.
One of our favorite aspects of geography is celebrating beautiful traditions of other countries, and how those traditions sometimes become part of ours. Japan’s national flower is the sakura, or cherry blossom. Every springtime, people enjoy the Hanami (flower-viewing) Festival across the country of Japan. I grew up near Washington, D.C. where the Cherry Blossom… Read more: Cherry Blossoms, from Japan to Washington, D.C. - Books to Learn about Irish American Culture and Immigration
All the Irish people I know are super proud of their Irish heritage. So it was surprising when my friend recently found out that she has Irish heritage! Her grandmother had hidden that fact from the family. We had lots of interesting thoughts and comments about discrimination, race and assimilation. Naturally, I then wanted to… Read more: Books to Learn about Irish American Culture and Immigration - Christopher Columbus Books: An Honest Look at the Real Story
What do you remember about Columbus from your own social studies classes? Take an honest look at the real story with these Christopher Columbus books. - Mid-Autumn Festival: Learning How to Make Mooncakes
The Backstory The Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated in most Asian countries at the Autumn Equinox. Many cultures have various celebrations that coincide, such as the Jewish celebration of the “Festival of Booths,” also known as Sukkot. The full moon that occurs at the Autumn Equinox is known as the “Harvest Moon.” In most Asian countries,… Read more: Mid-Autumn Festival: Learning How to Make Mooncakes